All I Ever Intended
by xx.just.a.contradiction.xx
Summary: Katie and Oliver have been trying to get on with life without each other for three years. But what happens when a Hogwarts reunion is organised and they both get an invite? Rated M for language and themes. KBxOW threeshot.
1. I Haven't Thought of You Lately At All

_A/N: This story may make some readers uncomfortable and/or may be unsuitable for those under sixteen years of age (particularly chapters two/three)...  
it contains coarse language, implied sex scenes and a shirtless, soon to be pants-less Oliver Wood. _

**

* * *

**

**All I Ever Intended.**

**Part One:  
_'I Haven't Thought of You Lately At All'_**

'

Startled awake by the shrill cry of her alarm clock, Katie lay still underneath the comforting warmth of the several layers of bedding that covered her. She stayed like that for a minute or so before habitually glancing at the time on the clock. Groaning loudly, she reluctantly pulled herself out of bed and shuffled into the bathroom, immediately turning the hot water of the shower on full-blast.

She'd just stumbled out of her closet only half-dressed when she heard the characteristic crack of someone apparating coming from the tiny kitchenette, and she hastily shoved her arms into a white blouse. Hurrying out into the kitchen, still buttoning the blouse, she smiled as soon as she saw not one but _two_ visitors – the forever mischievous and brilliantly redheaded Weasley twins.

They greeted her in unison with a chiming "Hallo Kates!" before engulfing her in two consecutive bear hugs.

'Haven't seen either of you in ages!' Katie remarked as she tucked her blouse into the high-waisted business skirt she had dressed her bottom half in.

'Been frightfully busy –' Fred said, playing up his accent to make it sound ridiculously obnoxious.

'What with the children and wives –' George continued in much the same fashion.

'And all.' they finished simultaneously with identical grins.

Katie laughed.  
'Can I make you both a coffee or something?'

'Nah,' answered Fred, leaning his lanky frame back against the kitchen bench, 'we're here on orders from the wives.'

'Ah.' Katie said, trying to disguise the tiny twinge of disappointment she felt: everyone was so busy these days they had little time for their younger, twenty-two year-old spinster friend.

'Ange and Alicia are organising some kind of reunion,' George said with a roll of his large blue eyes, 'they're getting all the old Gryffindor gang back together… you know, us all, Ron, Ginny, Hermione, Harry… uh, Oliver…'

Katie flinched quite visibly, but said nothing; she merely nodded with slight interest. 'Oh, sounds good.'

'They're also _insisting_ on inviting Davies and a few of that crowd too,' Fred said with distaste, before hastily adding, 'and why they felt the need to invite _Wood_ I have no idea, after everything that's happened…'

Katie nodded stiffly again and busied herself with making a mug of strong coffee. 'He was part of the gang, there's no reason why they shouldn't.'

They both smiled sadly at her, seemingly unable to find the right words to say.

They stood around the tiny kitchenette for a few tension-filled minutes, before Fred coughed awkwardly and George grimaced.

'Well, we'd best be off,' Fred said with a yawn, 'have good day at work Kates.'

'Oh, Alicia said to tell you to come over tomorrow night, too,' George said as they both pulled their wands out of the pockets of their jeans, 'we're having a few people over and she said to say sorry that we've been neglecting you a bit.'

Katie smiled.  
'Sure, I'd love to.'

There was another awkward pause before Fred nodded genially to her and apparated, George soon following his lead.

As soon as they left she sighed loudly, leaning back against the counter, feeling as if she needed another eight hours sleep, so exhausting was the effort of keeping up appearances around people these days.

Truth be told, even though she was slightly bitter at being left out of their "happily-married" circle, she liked spending most of her spare time by herself – she could shroud herself in her misery as much as she liked. Although, now that she thought about it, it was ridiculous really, the amount of misery she still seemed to endure considering the nasty fight between herself and Oliver had taken place nearly three years ago now – it was well and truly time that she got over herself.

With that somewhat disconcerting thought she trouped back into her bedroom and slipped a pair of medium-high heels onto her panty-hosed feet, tapped her face with her wand to instantaneously apply a slight touch of make-up and charmed her hair up into a shining, simple knot at the back of her head; a grimace on her face the entire time.

Keeping up appearances… oh, how she hated it.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Come tomorrow night, Katie was sort of wishing she hadn't taken up George's offer of dinner at his and Alicia's.

She'd had a hell two days at work, trying to keep the peace between the ever-obnoxious Vladimir Pinch, the ridiculously successful writer she was agent for, and the publishers at Mills & Ray publishing house, who were insisting the author's latest books contained too much sex and violence and not enough plot. In her own humble opinion, Katie privately agreed – Pinch's books were famously swamped with overly-horny heroes and submissive heroines, both of whom were subjected to altogether too much tragedy for comfort, tragedy usually involving horrific violence. However, Pinch always won, and now Katie was stuck finding him a new publisher, amongst trying to fix the damage he'd made to his own reputation… and publishers were few and far between in the wizarding world.

What she really wanted to do right now, instead of readying herself for a night full of happy couples and noisy kids, was to lie down on the lounge with two family-sized chocolate blocks and immerse herself in the latest trashy love novel she'd borrowed from her cousin Moira.

However, for the sake of appearances – and the free alcohol she was likely to be supplied with – she stripped down to her underwear and wandered into the closet to try and find something to wear to George and Alicia's.

Teetering on her tip-toes to reach the top shelf where she stored her winter dresses, she squeaked when the small pile of clothes came tumbling down upon her, covering her in an assortment of different coloured garments.

'Bloody hell.'

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

'Kates!' 

Smiling warmly, Alicia ushered a shivering Katie inside their comfortable family home, closing the door quickly on the blustery, snowy weather outside.

'Merlin!' Katie exclaimed as she took of her snow-covered cloak and hung it on a hook in the hall, 'its bloody freezing out there!'

Alicia laughed.  
'It's alright honey, come on in and sit next to the fire, George'll get you a drink.'

'One step ahead of you, my wife,' George said with wink in their direction, walking out of the kitchen with a warmed butterbeer for their rather cold guest.

Alicia giggled and stopped on her way to drag her two sons away from each other to kiss his cheek, making Katie feel like gagging. Instead, she accepted the butterbeer from George and exchanged an awkward hug with him as she juggled her drink and his long arms.

'Katie!'

Startled out of her hug, Katie turned to see Angelina striding up to them, her purposeful walk unchanged from the first time they'd met a long eleven years ago. Katie exchanged a no-fuss embrace with Angelina and then followed her back through the house into the large dining room, where an assortment of adults were sitting around the dinner table, talking pleasantly and sipping their drinks.

'Hey everyone, Katie's here!' Angelina announced to the group, and they all called out greetings and pleasantries to a slightly embarrassed Katie, who took a large swig of her butterbeer, wishing that butterbeers were made of stronger alcohol.

She stood awkwardly in the doorway, watching as Angelina strode over to Fred and sat down next to him, laughing at some joke he'd just told the far half of the table.

'So how've you been Katie?' asked Ginny, who was sitting in the chair closest to the doorway, 'come sit down and tell us what you've been up to.'

Grateful for the invitation but dreading having to talk about herself, Katie sat down next to the beautiful little redhead, exchanging smiles with Harry, Ron and Hermione in turn, all of whom looked altogether too grown up to Katie – the four of them looked older than _her, _which was quite alarming considering she was at least a year and half older than them all.

'Are you still working for Vladimir Pinch?' Hermione enquired as she sipped at her dandelion tea, 'I hear he has a new book in the works?'

Katie groaned before laughing slightly, startling Ron, who looked at her with a curious expression. 'Oh, Vladimir has a new book all right… the publisher sacked him over it a couple of days ago.'

'What'd he do?' Harry asked, leaning forward and picking up a handful of peanuts, which he shared with Ginny, who picked three up and popped them daintily in her mouth.

'They just had an argument, that's all,' Katie replied, remembering suddenly she probably shouldn't be talking about, but catching the look on their faces which clearly betrayed that the explanation wasn't satisfactory, 'a very _nasty_ argument…'

Ginny laughed.  
'That Pinch guy is a bit of a pig anyway, isn't he?'

'Yes, he is actually,' Katie said, laughing also, before taking a swig of her butterbeer, 'so anyway, enough about me, what've you four been up to?'

'Well,' said Hermione, exchanging an exuberantly happy look with Ron, 'we're actually expecting our first child.'

Keeping the fact that she'd already noticed Hermione's swollen belly to herself, Katie offered her congratulations most fervently, trying with all her might to make herself sound like she was happy for them – which she _was_, of course, but was finding hard to express.

'Harry and I have moved into an apartment in London,' Ginny said once the hype surrounding Ron and Hermione's expectancy had died down, 'last week, actually, so we'll probably run into you a lot more now.'

'Yeah, definitely, that's great,' Katie said, smiling, unsure whether she felt that would be a good thing or not and immediately feeling guilty.

There was an awkward pause, before Ron broke it with possibly the worst-timed conversation starter he could have broken the silence with.

'So, have you seen Wood lately?'

There was a ridiculously loud silence, in which Ginny viciously kicked her brother under the table, before Katie spoke. 'No, I erm, haven't.'

'None of us have actually,' said Harry thoughtfully as Ron leant over the table to grab a handful of peanuts, muttering about his now aching leg, 'nobody's heard from him for months.'

'Living in Scotland again now, isn't he?' Ron said, earning himself a glare from Hermione, who looked quite embarrassed, 'I heard he got signed by a new team from Glasgow.'

'I think so,' said Katie with a sigh, impulsively clutching her butterbeer to contain her urge to either punch something or cry, 'as I said, I haven't seen him in ages.'

'He um, asked me about you, when Gin and I saw him last,' Harry said awkwardly, as if telling her this was against his better judgement, 'he wanted to know how you were.'

'And did you tell him I'm doing wonderfully, thank you very much, and that I've all but forgotten about him?' Katie shot back without thinking before wincing at how aggressive it sounded.

'Uh, something like that.' Harry muttered, before getting up and saying something about getting another round of drinks.

'You know Katie,' Ginny said thoughtfully, rolling her eyes as Ron shot up out of his chair and hurried to help Harry, 'it's been a long time since you and Oliver broke up – I'm sorry to say this, but it sounds as if you're still in love with him.'

'What!' Katie exclaimed, aghast, 'No! No way! Absolutely, no way!'

A stunned silence fell over the entire room, in which most of its occupants stared at her as if she was some kind of head-case. Thoroughly embarrassed, Katie got to her feet, murmured something about needing the bathroom and hurried out, nearly running headlong into Luna Lovegood, who smiled dreamily at her, a blonde, dazed-looking baby on her hip.

Stammering a mixed-up apology and greeting, Katie pushed past her and stumbled down the hallway and into the bathroom, where she closed the door behind her and sank down onto the bath mat unorthodoxly.

What was it with everyone and feeling sorry for her?  
Ginny had been right about one thing – things had ended between her and Oliver a long time ago. But still, why did it hurt so much, even now, three years later?

* * *

_A/N: lyrics used are "We Used To Be Friends" by The Dandy Warhols. _


	2. Everybody Needs Time

* * *

**All I Ever Intended.**

**Part Two:  
_'Everybody Needs Time'_  
**

'_It's something I said, or someone I know.  
Or you called me up, maybe I wasn't home.  
Now everybody needs some time,  
and everybody knows  
The rest of it's fine  
And everybody knows that.'_

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Standing in front of the window of their small cottage, Katie pressed her nose to the glass, fogging it up with the small sigh she emitted. Smiling as a muffled snore sounded behind her, she tore her gaze away from the serene, snow-covered vegetation of the Scottish countryside, to look down at her boyfriend adoringly as he lay sprawled on his front on top of the bed._

_Her smile widened as she noted that his long, toned body took up most of the double bed's space, and as she walked over and sat down next to him on the bed, she felt an overwhelming sense of affection rush through all her senses. Reaching out to touch his back, she traced the long, slightly raised scar that ran from his right shoulder-bone down to his left hip. _

_He stirred at her touch and rolled over to look up at her, his smile fading as he soon as he saw the tears glistening in her eyes. Sighing, he sat up and pulled her to his naked torso, shuffling his body back up the bed towards the top, where he leant against the wall and cradled her in his lap._

'_I don't understand you Katie,' he said quietly as she sobbed into his chest, 'that scar is nearly two years old, I'm still alive and perfectly healthy… you just can't let things go, can you?'_

_Sniffling, she looked up at him wretchedly.  
'Of course you don't understand… I watched you die Oliver.'_

'_But I didn't die Kates,' he replied earnestly, 'I didn't die!'_

'_I thought you had,' she cried, launching herself back at his chest, 'I thought you had – I had ten hours worth of spare time lying beside you in that manor, ten hours to contemplate the thought of living without you…'_

_Oliver sighed.  
'I don't know how to make you happy any more Katie.'_

'_You do make me happy,' she sobbed, 'you do! I just wish you'd stop getting frustrated about this… it'll pass. Just not yet.'_

'_Katie, I know you, you won't let it go… you're too stubborn. You never let things go until you're forced to… and I don't want to have to force you.'_

_Gulping back the remainder of her tears, Katie wrenched herself away from him. 'What do you mean?'_

'_I think it would be better if we had some time away from each other – just until we can get ourselves sorted out.' He said quietly, unable to meet her gaze._

_Scrambling backwards away from him so fast she fell off the bed, Katie stared up at him in horror from the floor, where she had yet to move herself out of her unorthodox position. 'You're not serious.'_

'_Katie, I'm always serious when it comes to what's best for you… and obviously I'm not what's best for you at the moment.'_

'_Are you fucking kidding me!' she screamed suddenly, losing her wits but gathering a sense of momentum and getting abruptly to her feet, 'Oliver, you're the _only_ thing that's good for me at the moment! I have no family left, in case you've forgotten!'_

_Oliver winced.  
'Neither have I.'_

'_And that's precisely why you can't break up with me!'_

'_Look Katie, I'm sorry… it's just for a few weeks, until you can let go of things and I can find a way to sort myself out so I can help you.'_

'_I don't need your help, I don't want it!'_

'_Then why the big fuss?'_

_Her jaw dropping open, Katie stared at him for what felt like an eternity, before a glare that he did not much care for stole into her eyes and she seemed to just snap back into reality. Walking away from him, she stalked into the closet and began stuffing all her clothes into a bag she'd conjured up._

'_What are you doing?' Oliver asked in confusion, getting up off the bed and dragging a shirt on over his boxers, 'I'm not kicking you out – _I'll_ move out.'_

'_Oh, well that's just great Wood, I'm so glad you're a gentleman.' She replied scathingly from the closet, laughing hollowly, 'No, _I'm_ going, and _I'm_ not coming back either.'_

'_Wait a minute,' he said, walking into the closet and holding up his hands in a peaceful manner, 'I didn't want this to be permanent or anything.'_

'_Well I just made it permanent, Wood, so move.' _

_Shoving past him, she pulled her old school trunk out from under their bed and threw all the clothes inside. Catching a glance at her reflection in the mirror, she noted that she had one of his old Gryffindor captain sweaters on and quickly peeled it off and threw it at him, covering her bare chest with one arm and dragging another shirt out with the other limb._

'_Oh, so I'm "Wood" now am I?' he said, finally starting to get angry as the sweater hit him in the face, bathing him in the smell of apple shampoo and milk chocolate, 'Great. "Oliver honey" at night and "Wood" in the morning, eh?'_

'_Don't you start on that!' she screamed, dragging on a pair of jeans, 'Don't even start on _that_!'_

'_On what?' he yelled back, 'on what!? On the sex? Yeah, that's right; I'll say it even if you aren't woman enough to say it! What are you, thirteen?'_

'_No Wood, I'm nineteen,' she replied in a soft tone he knew immediately spelled danger, 'I'm nineteen – obviously, too young for you.'_

'_What!?' he yelped, 'Kates, we've been best friends since you were born! What are you saying?'_

'_Nothing Oliver, I'm saying nothing.'_

_They stood, silent; staring at each other, until Katie finally sighed, and before Oliver could do anything, she apparated, her luggage in tow. _

_Arriving in Alicia and George's shared apartment in London with a crash, Katie sank to the floor, hysterical, the sounds of Oliver shouting at her not to go even as the ominous crack sounded from her wand, reverberating in her head._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Two weeks after the disastrous dinner party at George and Alicia's, Katie was yet again getting dressed up for an event she didn't want to attend. The idea of the reunion was cringe-worthy enough as it is, without the added pressure of having to make sure everyone who'd been at the dinner two weeks ago thought she was alright – that she wasn't the messed up head-case she'd looked like then.

Pausing amidst pulling on a simple black evening dress, she smiled wryly as one of the poems she'd written a couple of years ago caught her eye, tucked away amongst the assortment of objects pinned to the corkboard collage on her wall. Reaching out and un-pinning it, she sat down on the bed and read it, laughing hollowly as she noted the irony of it.

-&-&-

_What is it that's stopping me from living?  
__Is it you? Or  
__the thought of you? Or  
__maybe just the lingering taste of you?  
__Either way, my stomach aches and  
__my mind is so over-crowded its  
__filing away vital components necessary for  
the most basic of social interaction.  
__A colloquialism and a cliché,  
__we're breaking the rules in all the same old ways.  
__What's worse than loving you?  
I'm messed up more than you know and  
in these smalls hours I'm  
alone in my claustrophobic antisocial sentiments  
__with only you,  
the thoughts of you,  
and the lingering taste of you  
to curb my indecent enthusiasm for being  
__your Number One Head-case._

-&-&-

Screwing it up and chucking it in the waste bin beside her dressing table, she continued the pulling on of her dress, and decided that all her "antisocial sentiments" were going to be discarded, much like the poem, for the evening.

'I'm going to have fun – enjoy myself thoroughly.' She said firmly to herself.

'That's the spirit, darling.' said the mirror in her en suite with a small chuckle.

Smiling, Katie finished zipping up her dress and bounced into the bathroom, hoping that if she acted excited she'd start to actually _feel_ excited – after all, why should Wood spoil all her fun? She was going to see people she hadn't seen since Hogwarts! And who knew? Maybe some of them were even single!

Tapping her nose with her wand, she grinned as her face immediately changed from plain and not made up, to a flawless complexion, smoky eye shadow and nude gloss. She then tapped her hair, which instantly curled itself, transforming its long, lank appearance, into lightly curled, shining locks.

Nodding contentedly, she went back into the bedroom and slipped on a pair of shiny black pumps. Then, she reached into her dresser and pulled out a fine silver chain with a small "K" on it – a necklace her mother had given her for her seventeenth birthday, the month before she'd been killed.

Surprising herself by not dissolving into a blithering mess, Katie decided that a positive attitude was something she'd desperately needed – looking into the mirror; she saw some of the old, bouncy Katie back in her thinner, slightly drawn face. Yes, definitely, some of that old mischief was back…

Placing her cloak gently around her shoulders and switching her room light off, Katie exhaled carefully before apparating, the night young and before her yet.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

'So, I said to him, I said to him "if you touch my wife, I swear to you mate, you won't see properly ever again", and d'you know what he did? He reached out and slapped her arse! Didn't he Cho darling? So I turned around and I smacked him a good one and he can't see out of one eye now, I hit him so hard.'

Laughing politely along with Ginny and a mortified looking Cho Davies, who immediately began chastising her husband, Katie smiled fondly as she looked around at the crowd of old friends, all gathered inside the large house of Angelina and Fred Weasley and their brood of four rowdy children.

Excusing herself from the conversation with a sly wink at Ginny, who looked ready to gag as Cho and Roger kissed passionately, she walked over to the kitchenette where Fred and George were mixing drinks.

'What can we get you Katie-love?' Fred asked as she approached.

'What've you got for me?' she countered with a smile as the twins grinned at her.

'Ooh, you're brave,' said Hermione, who was standing beside the counter with a glass of water, 'they gave Ron a glass of something earlier and he's still sleeping it off.'

Fred and George cackled gleefully.

'He deserved it,' George said as Hermione flashed them a reproachful glare, 'he told Fred that Alfie looked like a monkey with freckles.'

'Yeah,' said Fred, 'but what we didn't tell him was that Alfie was actually wearing a mask of Ron's own stupid face.'

Katie and Hermione both laughed; the latter in a slightly guilty manner as if she expected her husband to come out at any minute, his ears glowing a dangerous red.

'Where are Alfie and all the kids anyway?' asked a voice from behind them, and Katie choked on the drink Fred had just handed her, the smooth Scottish accent all too familiar.

'Uh, they're at ours,' said George, flashing a glance at Katie, who was still coughing loudly, 'Mum and Dad are babysitting them.'

'Ah,' said Oliver with a smile, leaning past Hermione and the back of the choking woman to hand the twins a couple of bottle of vodka, 'my muggle friend from Glasgow gave me these, he said they're strong though, so go easy on it.'

'Thanks Oliver,' said Fred with a grin, reaching out to clap the older man's back in a comradely fashion.

'No problem,' said Oliver, turning to Hermione with a smile, 'Hello Hermione, how're you?'

'I'm-I'm good thanks,' said Hermione, looking slightly afraid of him as she patted Katie's back softly.

'Who's this here that's choking? I don't quite recognise you.' Oliver said, frowning, those hips and slender waist were so familiar…

Turning around, horrified at the nerve of him, Katie winced as she looked at him properly for the first time in three years.

'Katie?' he said, shell-shocked, stumbling backwards, completely unable to comprehend how different she looked.

'Am I really that changed Wood?' she said coldly, thanking Hermione for her help and strutting past him, spilling some of her drink on him as she purposefully clipped his broad shoulder.

'Katie, wait!' Oliver called after her, apologising to Hermione and the twins and hurrying after her.

'Oliver mate, great to see you!' slurred Roger as Katie rushed past him followed closely by Oliver, who ignored him completely.

'Katie!' called Alicia as her friend stalked past her, heading towards the bathroom, 'Katie, what's the m- oh, hey Oliver.'

'Hi!' Oliver called as he ran past, upsetting a few drinks on his way through.

'Oh dear.' said Alicia to Angelina, who was watching the turn of events with mild curiosity.

'They'll probably make up and go snog in the bathroom, you'll see.' She said with a shrug, tossing her braids over her shoulder.

'Five quid and you're on.' Fred wagered, sauntering over to them with drinks.

'Deal.' said Angelina, taking the drink from him and sipping it gracefully.

Meanwhile, Oliver raced down the corridor behind Katie, yelling her name out in vain. 'Katie! Katie stop!'

Screeching to a halt outside the bathroom door, Katie slunk inside and was just slamming it shut when Oliver stuck his foot in the way. Cursing when she tried to close the offending appendage _in_ the door, Oliver placed his hands on the wood and shoved against it.

'Stop it!' she cried angrily, 'stop it, just leave me alone!'

'I just want to talk to you, that's all.' He grunted, pushing with all his might against the wooden door.

'This isn't fair!' she hissed as she pushed against his force, 'you're stronger than me!'

'What d'you expect me to do, ease up on you?' Oliver replied incredulously, taking advantage of her slight slip in concentration and ramming it, sending her flying backwards where she hit the bathroom wall, 'Oh shit! I'm sorry!'

Looking up, dazed, Katie frowned as soon as everything made sense again. Her eyes watering against the pain in her right shoulder, she got to her feet in a wobbly fashion and steadied herself with the towel rack.

'Katie, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to push that hard.' Oliver said slowly, coming towards her to make sure she was okay.

'Don't come near me!' she said loudly, stumbling backwards in her high shoes and nearly falling over again, 'don't touch me you _bastard_!'

Flinching at the terrified but furious tone of her voice, he took a step back and held his hands up in surrender. 'I'm sorry for- for… I'm sorry for everything Kates… if you decide you want to hear what I have to say then you know where I'll be.'

She stood still, panting heavily, trying not to cry and holding onto the towel rack for support, until he was out of sight: his footsteps echoing down the hall. Fumbling for the edge of the bathtub, she sat down tentatively, breathing in and out steadily as she tried to calm herself.

_So much for not letting Wood ruin your night… _she thought to herself sadly as she massaged her sore shoulder tenderly.

* * *


	3. Just Remember Me

* * *

**All I Ever Intended.**

**Part Three:  
_'Just Remember Me'_**

'_Come on now, honey,  
bring it on, bring it on, yeah.  
Just remember me when you're good to go  
Come on now, sugar,  
bring it on, bring it on, yeah.  
just remember me when...'_

Fifteen minutes later, feeling sufficiently calmed down, Katie walked back out into the crowd, her hair and make-up flawless once again thanks to her wonderful good fortune to have been born a witch.

Heading towards the bar, she stopped when she realised that Fred and George were in deep conversation with Oliver, who she noted looked quite upset. Feeling a certain amount of glee at his obvious pain and then feeling slightly guilty, Katie pondered for a moment over whether she should sweet-talk someone into going over and getting a drink for her or whether she should just be the bigger person and get her own.

Her decision was made for her however, when Ginny walked over, glancing curiously at Oliver who now looked ready to cry as Fred chastised him over something – the injuring of her shoulder, Katie guessed.

'You alright?' the younger girl asked as she passed Katie a glass of champagne, courtesy of Seamus Finnigan's winery-owning muggle father, 'Hermione said something about you, Oliver and choking..?'

Katie laughed slightly.  
'Oh it's nothing; just had a small run-in with the bastard is all.'

'Oh Katie,' sighed Ginny, looking at her friend sadly, 'you were going so well until he showed up…'

'Don't I know it?' she replied, taking a gulp of the sickly sweet champagne, 'Urgh, this is sweet!'

Ginny merely nodded, taking another sip of her own. There was a pause before she spoke again. 'You should go and talk to him… he seems genuinely upset.'

'What?' said Katie, 'and so _my_ being upset has nothing to do with it?'

'I'm just saying is all…' Ginny said, holding her hands up in a demonstration of peace.

'And how're you lovely ladies this evening?'

Disrupting their conversation with a smooth, easy voice, Dean Thomas came over to them, Lavender Brown clinging to his arm with a simpering smile.

'Good thanks,' the girls replied in unison, determinedly not looking at each other for fear of laughing at Lavender, who was surveying Ginny's black sheath dress-clad body with unabashed envy.

'I do _love_ your dress Ginny,' Lavender said after an awkward pause with another of her all too familiar fake-smiles, 'it compliments your figure beautifully.'

'Uh, thank you Lavender,' Ginny replied, her pale face flushing scarlet as the effort of containing her laughter became more difficult, 'yours is lovely too.'

Katie raised an eyebrow as she took in the ruffles and lilac taffeta that Lavender was wearing, her vanity clearly exposed by her choice of dress colour – how could anyone not remember who Lavender was if she was wearing a lavender dress?

'So um, oh my, Ginny is that Harry beckoning to us?' said Katie suddenly as she noticed the younger girl was about to spontaneously combust with mirth, 'Oh it is, I'm terribly sorry Dean, Lavender, we'll talk to you later.'

Grabbing her friend by the elbow, Katie hurried away towards the kitchenette where Harry was chatting animatedly with Fred and George. Giggling madly, the two girls made it just in time, ducking behind bar and exploding into peals of laughter.

Her eyes streaming with tears of laughter, Katie blinked ferociously before realising she was looking directly into the large brown eyes of Oliver Wood. Shrieking, she jumped to her feet, startling Fred who upset his martini canister and protested loudly, dropping said canister on the head of his hysterically giggling sister.

'Oi, watch it!' cried Ginny, gasping when she realised Oliver was on the floor beside her, a champagne cork in his hand and Katie was trying madly to escape from the kitchen but being stopped by George, 'Oliver, what are you doing down here?'

'I could ask you the same question,' he replied with a smirk, getting to his feet and giving her a hand up, 'what was so funny?'

'Lavender's lavender dress.' Ginny answered with a snort, exchanging glances with Fred and George, 'ahem, how about we serve up those drinks, eh, brothers of mine?'

'Excellent.' Fred and George said in unison, and before either Katie or Oliver could protest, whisked away with their sister in tow, leaving them to stand on opposite ends of the kitchenette, looking awkwardly down at their feet.

'So you weren't coming to find me then?' Oliver said finally, after a few minutes of tension-filled silence.

'No,' replied Katie, 'I was escaping Lavender Brown.'

'I really am sorry you know.'

Grunting, Katie bent down to fix the strap on her shoe, silently cursing the Weasley siblings for being so conniving.

'We used to be friends once,' Oliver continued, plundering on in either a brave or stupid manner, 'before we started going out and all that… we used to be so close Kates – I've missed you like you wouldn't believe.'

Unable to trust herself to say something constructive, Katie said nothing, merely nodding awkwardly and looking at him sadly. He looked so _good_ in his open collared black dress-shirt and dark-wash jeans… if only.

'You um, you look amazing,' he said with a cough, gesturing at her tight little black number, 'I can't believe how different you look though… so much older.'

'Do you do this with all your ex-girlfriends?' Katie suddenly asked, unable to help herself, 'Apologise and then tell them that they used to be ugly but now look better because they look old?'

Stung, Oliver stared at her.  
'I'm trying my best here… this isn't easy.'

'And you think it's easier for me!' she cried with a dry sob, 'I've had to live the last three years practically by myself – no family, my friends all too busy with their own lives, no best-friend any more because I was so stupid as to think he might actually have loved me…'

'I do love you!' he yelled back, stopping once he'd realised what tense he'd used.

'You might've once.' She corrected him coldly, turning to leave.

'Don't walk out again Katie,' he said softly, 'don't make the same mistake twice.'

'I'd only just gotten over you Oliver,' she said sadly, desperately, her legs going out from under her and she stumbled, clutching the counter, 'I'd only just started trying to live without you… don't do this to me.'

'I never even tried.' He said, the sincerity in his voice cutting but vulnerable.

'Don't lie to me,' she whispered, her knuckles going white from the pressure of her grip on the edge of the bench, 'you could have any girl you wanted, any time, any where… don't tell me you never had any other girl but me.'

'I didn't, though,' he said hoarsely, reaching out to touch her cheek, 'I never had any girl but you – never _wanted_ any girl but you… you were the one girl I couldn't have.'

Letting out a real sob this time, Katie began to cry as her legs gave way, her emotions too heavy for her body to bear. Catching her as she fell, Oliver pulled her into a hug, clutching her to him like he couldn't bear to let her go again.

'I never wanted anyone but you either,' she croaked amidst her tears, pressing her face into his warm, unbelievable smelling neck, crying harder than she could remember, 'you were the only person I had left…'

Holding her close, Oliver felt the tears start to seep from his own eyes too. She was unbelievably gorgeous when she cried – her vulnerability was so painfully beautiful it hurt to watch.

'You're my family, my life and my whole world Katherine Bell, don't ever leave me again.'

Pulling away from his neck, she sniffed, a watery smile lighting up her face, her fingertips lightly tracing the part of his chest exposed by the open collar of his shirt. She eyed him thoughtfully for a second before taking him by the hand and walking him out of the kitchen and through the crowd of people, now dancing to a stereo one of the twins had conjured up.

'Where are we going?' he asked quietly, laughing slightly when she turned to wink at him.

Walking him down the corridor, Katie suddenly laughed, and to his surprise let go of his hand and began to run. Chuckling, Oliver raced after her, the click-clack of her heeled shoes muffled by the thud of his own feet as he chased her down the parquetry corridor and into the small guest-laundry at the very end.

Smiling conspiratorially, she closed the door behind him, facing him with a blazing look in her eyes that he couldn't quite place for a moment, before balking with surprise when he recognised it as desire. Unsure if he'd placed the look correctly, he tentatively stretched out a finger and traced a line from the base of her right jaw-bone to her collar bone tenderly, smiling when he felt the goosebumps raise on her skin underneath his touch.

They stood there, his fingers gently touching her, both their eyes still wet with tears, until she launched herself at him, pushing him flush up against the wall and kissed him hungrily, almost violently. Oliver, although slightly taken aback, wasn't exactly saying no, though.

Panting, she tore her lips away from his for a moment before skimming her fingers down his chest and unhooking the buttons of his shirt deftly, and then yanked the shirt off him, leaving her before him, half-naked, his torso gleaming in the dim light of the laundrette.

'You've still got it.' She said with an approving smirk and he snorted, leaning forwards quickly to capture her mouth with his again, spinning her around so she was against the wall this time.

Sliding the straps of her dress off her shoulders and helping her to shimmy out of it, Oliver ran his hands through her hair, the curls falling through his fingers until they left his hands bare again, free to pick her up and place her on top of the washing machine so she was more the right height.

'Ack, cold!' she hissed into his mouth, giggling.

Oliver merely trailed his kisses away from her bruised mouth and down her jaw-line… neck… collar bone… décolletage…

'I'm – surprised – you – were – that – quick – with – my – buttons' he said suddenly in between kisses with a wicked gleam in his eyes, 'shouldn't – you – be – out – of – practise?'

She laughed as she fumbled with his belt buckle.  
'Why would I be? I only ever practised with you.'

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

Outside, their ears pressed against the door and eyebrows rising higher and higher as the dirty talk continued, Fred and Angelina muffled their laughter.

'Are they actually making out?' Alicia asked quietly, incredulous.

'More than that, by the sounds of it,' muttered George with a smirk.

'That'll be five quid, love.' said Fred to his wife, smiling victoriously.

'No way,' replied Angelina, silencing his intended cry of protest by placing one graceful, dark hand over his mouth, 'they were supposed to snog-and-make-up in the bathroom, _not_ the laundry.'

_We used to be friends,  
short and sweet to the soul  
is all I intend._

_

* * *

_-x-x-x-x-x-x-x- 

_Dedicated to Kailey Hamilton..  
I never did finish the birthday present I wrote you, I'm really sorry.  
I bet you thought I'd forgotten or not bothered or anything..  
I'm sorry this is so late.  
Oh, that would suck so bad if you hated this...  
if you do, tell me, i'll write you another one. lol._

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

_Well, that was a bit racy, wasn't it? hahaha.  
__If it was too explicit or whatever but liked it enough to want me to, I can get you a copy without the racy-ness in it.. just PM me and let me know. lol._

_I forgot to add on last chapter that the poem used is mine, so please don't use it without my permission.. not that i think its really that good anyway, but still.. __um, what else to write? _

_oh yeah, the song i used as inspiration for this is A-MAZINGGGG. so if you havent heard it, i advise you find your nearest limewire program or whatever and get it. it will change your life. _

_Love,  
Ash x_


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